Consider again the context of Jesus’ ministry: facing opposition from the religious authorities for His denunciation of their religious hypocrisy (Mat 12:22-45), His popularity among even His supporters had also begun to decline due to the perceived difficulty of His teachings (see Joh 6:60,66). As a result, He began to withdraw with His remaining disciples,…
With what other reward does Jesus encourage His disciples who have left everything to follow Him? See Mat 19:29. Does this promise refer only, or even primarily, to a future age in heaven? See Luke 18:29-30. In what sense do those who have left home and family to follow Jesus receive “a hundred times as…
What does Jesus mean by the regeneration (Mat 19:28)? Notice that the Greek word used (palingenesia) means literally a re-birth and occurs only twice in the Bible; it was used by the Hellenistic Jews to refer to a state of renewal, such as after the flood or the return of the Jewish exiles from captivity. …
Which disciple responded to Jesus’ words about the impossibility of men being saved apart from God? See Mat 19:27. How did Peter contrast himself and the other disciples with the rich young ruler? See Mar 10:28, Luk 18:28; cf. Mat 4:18-22, Luk 5:11. What question did he then ask? Consider Peter’s question: they had left…
What do Matthew and Mark say the man did in response to his grief and sorrow at Jesus’ reply? See Mat 19:22, Mar 10:22. What does his response indicate that he ultimately loved more: God or his worldly wealth? In what way is that like so many today who in the same way “go away”,…
What did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to do with the proceeds of selling his possessions? How does that compare with what an average church today might direct him to do with the money? See the chart below and think: did Jesus say that he should deposit the proceeds into the temple treasury, or…
We have seen that the purpose of the law is to expose our sin nature and as a tutor to lead us to Christ, wherein we may be justified by faith. As we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness, does that mean that our own righteousness doesn’t matter, that our sins ultimately don’t matter, and that…
After Jesus had just enjoined the rich young ruler to keep the commandments in order to enter into life, what question did the young man then ask Him? See Mat 19:18. What does his question indicate about his understanding that some commandments were more important than others? Does that mean to imply that some commandments…
What does Mark say Jesus was doing when this event took place? See Mar 10:17. Where had He been, and where was He going? See Mar 10:1,32,46, 11:1. How does Matthew describe the age of this man? See Mat 19:20,22, and note that the term “young man” (neaniskos) may refer to anyone from a boy…
Why were the children being brought to Jesus? See Mat 19:13; cf. Mar 10:13. Why would people want Jesus to touch their children? See Mar 10:16. Throughout history god-fearing parents have sought the blessing of God upon their children through His righteous servants; what does the decreasing incidence of this today indicate about 1) the…